The first person who really deserved the title “King of the Goths” would appear to be Ermanaric, an odd figure in many ways. He was the first ruler of the Amal line to emerge from the realms of myth into historical fact, and the first King to hold authority over both the Ostrogoths and the Greutungi. He died in 375 AD but when he became King is debatable, especially as he was reputed to have been 110 years old at the time of his death.

He was described by Ammianus Marcellinus as a warlike King, feared by his neighbours in “the fertile lands of Scythia”, that is to say Southern Russia and the Ukraine. He is credited with having conquered an area stretching from the Black Sea to the Baltic, relying heavily on a force of armoured lancers. The bitterest battles in the early part of his reign were against the Heruli under their King Alaric. These people lived at that time in the region of the lower Don and their conquest opened up trade routes through the Black Sea.

Despite these achievements, however, Ermanaric was always regarded as a somewhat dubious figure, even by his own people. Later Ostrogothic rulers in Italy were sometimes reluctant to include him in their genealogies. There are probably two reasons for this. First, he acquired a reputation as a bloodthirsty, if not positively diabolical ruler in his later years. In particular the horrific execution of Queen Sunilda lead to much ill feeling. Sunilda’s husband was King of the Rosomoni who appear to have been a branch of the Heruli. Some time after the Heruli had been defeated and become a protectorate of the Ostrogoths/Greutungi, attacks by the Huns began in the area of the Don. The Rosomoni King seems to have aided the Huns, perhaps in an attempt to exploit the situation and escape from Ermanaric’s rule. The Rosomoni King himself evaded punishment but Sunilda was captured; Ermanaric had her drawn and quartered in her husband’s place. There are also allegations in later Scandinavian Sagas that Ermanaric had members of his own family who might threaten his position put to death.

The second reason for Ermanaric’s memory to be viewed with suspicion was the way he met his end. Shortly after the Sunilda episode Hunnish attacks got worse. After subjugating the Alans the Huns launched a full-scale invasion of Ostrogthic lands. Ermanaric initially resisted but would seem to have been seized by an overwhelming feeling of fear and mental paralysis, leading him to commit suicide “to escape his fear of making crucial decisions”. After his death both the Ostrogoth/Greutungi and the members of the Amal royal house split, some remaining in their old lands under Hunnish rule, others moving away to the South West.

In fairness to Ermanaric there were possible religious and mystic factors at play in his suicide. His role as King has been equated as much to a High Priest as to a warrior and it was suggested, both by contemporaries and by later writers, that his “suicide” was in fact a voluntary ritual sacrifice to the Gods in an attempt to avert the dire threat from the Huns. All in all, a most intriguing character.